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JUBILEE TEACHING

The baptismal certificate

JUBILEE TEACHING FOR MARCH 30, 2008 | DIVINE MERCY SUNDAY

After you were baptized, your name was inscribed in the baptism register of the Catholic parish where the event took place. Your entry also includes the names of the minister, your parents (if you were a child when baptized), your godparents, the place and date of your baptism, and the place and date of your birth. You or your family probably received a record of that entry in a document commonly called a baptismal certificate. The certificate is your copy of the official record held at your parish of baptism.

That parish updates the record of your baptism throughout your life. A notation is added whenever an event happens that affects your status in the church. If you were confirmed, if you were married in the church, if you were ordained a deacon or a priest, if your marriage was annulled or dissolved in the Catholic Church, a notation has been made in your original baptismal record at the parish where you were baptized.

The original baptismal certificate in your possession then becomes outdated at intervals in your life. When a Catholic gets engaged, the parish preparing the couple for marriage will need an updated copy of the baptismal certificate — one that shows the current record of marital status. Catholics can obtain this document by contacting the parish where they were baptized.

The church maintains baptismal records as accurately as possible. If a parish closes for any reason, the baptismal records and other documents are moved to another parish.

The diocesan chancery office can usually help locate baptismal records.

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JUBILEE TEACHING

The baptismal certificate

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